Why Kendra Scott’s Secret Weapon Is Mentors

“Every single day I wake up and I’m running a company bigger than it was the night before,” Kendra Scott says, “which is a pretty phenomenal thing, right?” But at every stage, no matter how much her company has grown, the founder of jewelry behemoth Kendra Scott Design is looking to other people who have been there and done that.

“I think for entrepreneurs to ask for help is not a sign of weakness; it’s an incredible sign of strength.”

“Mentors are incredibly important,” she says. Despite being 100 percent owner of her company, which she bootstrapped from the beginning, Scott still created an advisory board in the early days. “I wanted to have a sounding board and bring people in who had run successful businesses. I think for entrepreneurs to ask for help is not a sign of weakness; it’s an incredible sign of strength.”

Of the numerous mentors Scott says have helped her through the years, a couple stand out. From a young age, she looked to her aunt, who was a department store fashion director. Steve Hicks, founder of the company that was a predecessor of iHeart Media, is another powerful mentor for her.

Scott emphasizes that mentors don’t have to come from your industry. “It really is just people who you admire, respect and look up to. I’m always looking for new mentors and asking people, ‘Hey, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?’ It’s pretty amazing what you can get from that.”